If you think finding strange correlations between
random subjects is really exciting, then harmony will knock your socks off.
Harmony combines physics, math, and can even be related to chemistry
(by a stretch) in a fascinating way.
Microsoft XP Clip Art
Harmony will knock your socks off!
Harmony is the art of using chords in music.
To put things linearly, harmony is the vertical aspect of music because
chords are stacked in connected beats (“up-and-down”), while melody is the
horizontal aspect (“side-to-side”) because it moves the music forward.
http://www.sheetmusicarchive.net/compositions_b/bachguam.pdf
Discussing harmony in its scientific form is rather dense,
so I've simplified much of the information into bite-sized ideas and analogies.
When two notes are played at the same time with frequencies that form
a simple fraction (such as 300 Hz to 200 Hz = 3/2), they will sound pleasing
to the ear because of their vibrations are complementary.
The harmony that we hear comes from harmonics and resonances.
Musical notes may be considered harmonious when some of the harmonics
of each note are vibrating at the same frequency.
So...What makes harmony different from other sounds?
Music can be thought of in chemistry terms (just humor me). Each note
is an element. Let's say we're dealing with hydrogen and oxygen. Individually,
hydrogen and oxygen are pretty cool, but when you put two hydrogens together
with an oxygen to make water, the relationship formed is superior to the individual
precursors. The moral of this far-fetched story is when two notes are
combined in harmony, they create a compound that is special. Along
the same lines, as David Benner, author of The Neurobiology of Harmony
describes, "Music is composed of pure elements of sound, pitch and meter,
with an internal order, as well as external significance for the listener."